Eight returning VBI champs and 18 returning state qualifiers head a deep field at Van Buren this weekend. Six returning competitors reached placement in last year’s state tournament, Sumner, Ada; Moore, Swanton; Villereal and Mendoza, Gibsonburg; May, Carey; and Beemer, O-G. This is a very nice tournament which features 22 NW Division teams. Six other teams will be at the SW District in Troy (Ada, Allen East, Bluffton, Jefferson, O-G, Wayne Trace) and two other schools will compete in the NW Division 2 District at Norwalk (Galion, Otsego).

This year, several weights will have multiple ranked wrestlers that will eventually face off at the Division 3 district at Defiance in a few weeks. For many wrestlers, it will be their opportunity to prove the "rankers" wrong :0! Van Buren is a special event for the Van Buren wrestling community. They are great hosts and always have some of the best officials in the area. Many of these officials have officiated this tournament for a looong time. And I am sure for them, that this is a special tournament for them as well and one of their favorites.

106
My favorite at this weight class is Jake Manley, Otsego. A state qualifier a year ago missed placement by at match last year at state. A returning VBI champion who bested Caprella in OT in the VBI finals. Manley recently finished 2nd at Perrysburg losing to Burgdorf, Firelands a returning state placer by decision. The 106 pound class will offer a deep field this weekend and Manly will certainly be challenged by a new crop of freshman.

113
Favored here is sophomore Chase Caprella, Allen East. A returning state qualifier last year looks to lead the pack in what may be one of the weaker classes at VBI this weekend. Caprella already has wins at Sidney, Allen County, and Marion Harding. At Sidney, he was able to hold on for a narrow victory against a very good Sabin from Mentor. He will be challenged by a very good freshman in Hahn of Eastwood who is zeroing in on 30 wins this season.

120
My pick here may not be the popular choice, but I am going with the freshman Drake Carmean, Allen East. Carmean is a pinner and also has a really nice drill partner in the room in Caprella. Allen East has a very nice combination in the lower weights with Kennedy, Capralla, and Carmean. I expect Allen East to get plenty of points from this trio this weekend. He will, however, be challenged by an improving Pollard who just recently dropped from 126 and a very steady Bauer. Pollard finished 2nd last year and Bauer was 3rd. An emerging Glaze of Eastwood provides a competitive group at this weight.

126
Assuming Trevor Schaller, Swanton is at this weight, he will be my favorite to win here. A state qualifier two years ago, his aggressive style just may get him back to Columbus for his senior year. If he decides to go 120 this weekend, he would be my pick to win that weight as well. One of Schaller’s top competitors this weekend could be Mancuso who finished 3rd at VBI a year ago and Hernandez of O-G.

132
Like Schaller at 126, one of the big question marks will be where does Dylan Cook, Swanton end up? A drop to the 126# class seems inevitable, but hasn’t happen yet. Cook is very good on his feet, possesses a very nice slide-by, and can score in many positions. Roth, SMCC or Patterson, NB will be there to challenge him, but I expect Cook to win here due to his ability to score and the quality of competition he has faced this year. 132 will be a very uncharacteristically weak weight class this weekend.

138
A state qualifier two years ago and narrowly missing his 2nd state berth last year, my pick here will be Daniel Price, Mohawk. He will be challenged by a competitive Hahn, Freeman, and Saunders. This weight will be a good one to watch as there will be as many as 4 wrestlers will be on the cusp of making the state tournament come March. This weight will serve as a good preview for the NW Division 3 District. I think the improving Freeman will have a good shot at making it out of the SW District at Troy.

145
This will be another exciting weight class to watch this weekend. The exceptional Hugo Villerreal, Gibsonburg is at the head of the pack, but can certainly be challenged by 2x defending state placer Sumner. Also in this group, I expect former state qualifier Pachelhofer to have a big say at this weight this weekend.

152Chase Moore, Swanton is showing exactly why he placed in the state tournament twice in the past. A very good competitor with a strong motor, he leads a terrific Swanton team who will likely win the tournament. He is the obvious pick to win his 2nd consecutive VBI title. Last year, he bested Villerreal 3-2 in a very good match by both competitors at VBI.

160
This weight class is going to be another fun one to watch. Parker Brown, Mohawk is the returning VBI Champ at this weight and will also be my favorite to win it this year as well. A state qualifier a couple years ago, he looks to be on pace for a return trip to Columbus this year. Like the 138# class, this will be another weight class that will pit these foes against one another at the NW District in March. 5 “ranked’ wrestlers head this field with 4 of them eventually meeting at the Defiance District.

170
Get your popcorn ready for this weight class!! 3 top 10 wrestlers highlight this field with Junior Bradley Mendoza, Gibsonburg leading the way and my pick to repeat as VBI Champion this weekend. Mendoza is a very powerful specimen that relies on good technique and his ablility to score big points. As a sophomore, he was a 5th place finisher in Columbus losing very narrow decisions to the state runner-up (Vonderwall, DSJ) and his consolation semifinal to Draper (Mohawk) who was no stranger to the VBI tournament in the past. He will be challenged by a solid group of wrestlers in state qualifiers Kwiat and Rosales. From top to bottom, I would have to say this is one of the deeper fields this weekend.

182
Another weight class with some high end power, the 182# class will feature Daniel Beemer, Ottawa-Glandorf a 2x state placer already, he is down a weight from 195# where he placed 4th in Columbus last year. A 2x defending VBI Champion, he will be my pick to win his 3rd VBI title and the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. The sophomore May, just “may” be his toughest challenger. As a freshman, he was a state qualifier and finished 6th in Columbus. Neth, Leahy, Loveridge, and Emerine follow those top two.

195
After the 160-182# classes, there is a sharp drop-off in competition in the 195# group. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t filled with quality wrestlers at the top. I have been saying since his freshman year that Dylan Hinton, Elmwood is a bonafide “man-child”. For that reason alone, he is my pick to win the 195# class. However, that certainly does not mean that he will not be challenged by two other returning state qualifiers in Nasser and Oberheim. Nasser is a powerhouse that looks like he could squat small house or a Yugo, if you are old enough to remember what that is. I am guessing that he puts 500 lbs. on the bar and he squats it with no trouble at all. Nasser was exceptional in winning the Tri-State Border War at Defiance abot a month ago defeating a very good Will Morrow (Patrick Henry) 7-3. His shorter stature makes it very tough to score on him. Hinton did beat Nasser for 3rd Place at VBI two years ago by a 7-2 decision. I look forward to them meeting in the finals this year, but I would give the edge to Hinton as he may be just too much human for Nasser to handle. We will see.

220Chris Kuhn, SMCC is head and shoulders above the rest of the field at Van Buren. A returning state qualifier a year ago at this weight, he lost a close bout (6-5) to Division 2 state runner-up Phillips (Maumee) earlier in the year at Bellevue. Behind him is a quartet of challengers in Wilson, Weichert, Abouhassan, and Sargeant.

285
Two returning state qualifiers return at 285# this year at VBI in Tommy Lytle, Swanton and Mason Weldon, Galion. These two are no strangers to one another as they met twice last season with Lytle winning in the semi-final of VBI last year against Weldon 13-3. Weldon avenged his loss to Lytle by pinning him at the NW District ¾ place match. This year, I expect a closer match between the two than the loss Weldon took at VBI last year. In any event, I am going with Lytle to win this class this year to defend his VBI title. Weldon is a very big opponent who will present many challenges to the other opponents this weekend.

Are the Carey Classic results posted anywhere? I was wanting to see those and couldn't find them.

I searched everywhere for them. I left a lot of wrestlers off my list because I found very few wrestling results for the Blanchard Valley Region. I definitely missed on several kids from McComb, Cory-Rawson, and Van Buren.

The seed meeting is a coaches vote. You are correct, there really isn't a criteria. A two hour seed meeting.

Wow! That's a long meeting. I assumed they used a criteria similar to LCC or any other tournament. Seems like that would cut down on a lot of work and headache. Must be the way they've always done it. Either way, I'm eager to see the brackets!

Winning % is not the most reliable method of seeding. Especially with some teams participating in a lot of deals in the early going. Lots of forfeits there. Where will results be posted? I'll be out of town for work but would like to check in.